Len Greenhalgh has experience in helping managers figure out what is working well in the part of the organization for which they are responsible, and what needs improvement. A former consultant, entrepreneur, and purchasing manager, he brings real-world experience as well as academic credentials to his consulting assignments. He uses a proprietary diagnostic tool—The SPARSE Questionnaire™—to assess the broad range of organizational factors managers need to “get right” if the organization is to survive, prosper, and grow. He helps managers evaluate: the clarity and comprehensiveness of the strategy; the degree of customer focus; the adequacy of processes, systems, resources and the organizational structure; the quality of managerial relationships, and the degree to which empowerment is being used to leverage managerial effort. This allows client organizations to pinpoint roadblocks to success, and design and prioritize improvement efforts.
Many organizations have made commitments to help their value chain partners—suppliers and “downstream” channel partners—become more effective. Current practice is to assign an experienced executive to coach the CEO of the protégé company. But this arrangement doesn't always work well. People who have moved up the ranks of large corporations, even when highly motivated to devote time and attention to mentoring, often are inexperienced in the challenges and workings of small-to medium-sized protégé companies, and, as a result, lack real empathy with the entrepreneurial CEOs they are assigned to help. Furthermore, the focus of mentoring usually needs to be the top management team of the protégé company which must collectively implement the strategy, not just the CEO.
Len has designed programs to increase the effectiveness of major organizations' investments in mentor-protégé programs. Stronger impact—and greater cost-effectiveness—is achieved when the mentor's efforts are supplemented with targeted learning experiences in which mentors join the protégé top management teams in diagnosing and addressing organizational shortcomings of the protégé company.
Relationships among executives, with strategic allies, and between suppliers and customers often get strained by disputes. Disagreements, misunderstandings, and mistakes are normal occurrences in all walks of life, but poorly handled disputes can quickly escalate into polarized stances that are difficult for the people involved to resolve by themselves. In such circumstances, a skilled “outsider” can help break impasses and heal rifts because there is no strained relationship to inhibit or distort communication. Len's training and research in conflict resolution, relationship management, and counseling—combined with his experience in mediating interpersonal and corporate disputes—prepare him for confidential assignments to help the parties resolve their differences and restore productive working relationships.
Len has taught general management topics, negotiation/conflict-resolution, and building strategic relationships to various executive groups, including the following: